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Abstract

While mixed methods approaches to research have been accepted practice within the social sciences for several decades (Tashakkori and Teddlie 2003), the rising demand for cross-disciplinary analyses of socio-environmental processes has necessitated a renewed examination of this approach within environmental studies. Urban environmental stewardship is one area where it is clear that neither a quantitative nor qualitative approach can provide a full understanding. Rather, the typologies and relationships identified by quantitative data are essential to structuring qualitative data collection strategies in such a way as to lead to specific knowledge of how stewardship groups affect governance systems by carrying information and resources across sectors and scales. In short, stewardship is an issue within environmental studies that demands a mixed methods approach in order to understand the social-ecological implications. This chapter demonstrates one way in which such research might be structured.